Roe V Wade: Unraveling the Fabric of America
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ou don’t need religion to kill Roe v Wade constitutionally, although ROE . some pro-Roe politicians use religion (in reverse) to shield Roe from ROE v. WADE. beingY killed so. Side A argues that supporting abortion-access contradicts Jesus Christ, the giver of “abundant life”. Side B argues that the fetus Unraveling the Fabric unquestionably qualifies as a 5th (14th) Amendment person. The two of America arguments are laid side by side so people will quit confusing them. v. Since Roe, more than fifty million human fetuses (or for all any person WADE knows really: human beings in their fetal stages) have been launched into eternity by pointy medical instruments. Roe and its progeny say that all of this killing is constitutionally permissible because, in keeping PHILIP A. RAFFERTY with the English common law, the human fetus or “child unborn” does not qualify as a 5th (14th) Amendment due process clause person. What if the Roe justices got this wrong—for lack of a “working knowledge” . of the status of the human fetus (or unborn child) and abortion at the Fabric of America Unraveling the English common law? Philip Rafferty, through a working knowledge of abortion prosecution at the English common law, demonstrates that the Roe justices certainly got this wrong. So forget everything you think you know about the abortion controversy. It’s time to know What’s Really Going On. “The overruling of Roe v. Wade is considered a dead issue. Rafferty has raised up this dead issue on Roe’s own burial grounds. And he has done so with unparalleled, pointed legal scholarship.” Ken R. Hughey P American fighter pilot and Hanoi-Hilton Prisoner of War. HILI Philip Rafferty is a criminal defense P attorney, in private practice, A. R in Southern California. A FFE R TY Law, Constitutional 978-1-62295-678-4 $17.99 M uch To Be Adored As When PRINTED IN THE USA PRINTED IN Law Is Never So It Casts Its Shield Over The Defenseless REVISED & EXPANDED ROE v. WADE: Unraveling the Fabric of America (Revised & Expanded 2012) Front Cover: Blind Lady Justice – The personification of the moral force that underlies the rule of law – gazing from atop the so-called Wall of Separation (of Church and State) upon the reality that she has been misled by our United States Supreme Court into bringing about the opposite of the ultimate principle for which she stands. The quote in graffiti on the Front Cover Wall: The great 19th century, American legal commentator and compiler, Joel Prentiss Bishop (1814-1901) Originally Titled (and with a different cover design): What’s Really Going On With Pro-Roe V. Wade Catholic Politicians (Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC. 2011) Front Cover design by Daniel Williams PHILIP A. RAFFERTY ROE v. WADE: Unraveling the Fabric of America (Revised & Expanded 2012) Roe v. Wade Unraveling the Fabric of America Copyright © 2011 (Revised and Expanded 2012) by Philip A. Rafferty. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law. The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Tate Publishing, LLC. Published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC 127 E. Trade Center Terrace | Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 USA 1.888.361.9473 | www.tatepublishing.com Tate Publishing is committed to excellence in the publishing industry. The company reflects the philosophy established by the founders, based on Psalm 68:11, “The Lord gave the word and great was the company of those who published it.” Book design copyright © 2011 by Tate Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover design by Daniel Williams Interior design by Cheryl Moore Published in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62295-678-4 1. Law / Constitutional 2. Law / General 12.11.19 DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the memories of my father, Owen Rafferty, and my mother, Lilly Rafferty, and to my friends Sherilyn Patrick and Stephen Price. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sir John H. Baker, retired Professor of English Legal History, University of Cambridge, former Downing Professor of the Laws of England, and Fellow of Saint Catharine’s College, provided invaluable assistance in producing many of the cases set forth in the appendices of this book. His generous contribution included responding to my countless questions, as well as providing back- ground and critical commentary on (and in many instances, locating and translating) many of the cases set forth in the appendices of this book. He is, in my opinion, the embodiment of legal scholarship. I am forever grateful to him in rendering to me such kind assistance. I am grateful also to the staff and research librarians of the Los Angeles County Public Library (and particularly to Peter Rosenwald, retired), the Los Angeles County Law Library, and the Huntington Library (San Marino, California) for the kind and patient assistance they rendered to me over the course of several years. Stephen Price and Theresa Bouvier provided invaluable and very timely assistance in finalizing the MS for submission to Tate. Sherilyn Patrick computer-typed, formatted, and assisted in edit- ing countless versions of the project which gave rise to Side B of this book. Her contribution extended continuously for over a twenty- five-year period. She remained gracious and patient throughout. A person who possessed these virtues to a lesser degree would have long since thrown the manuscript and me into the deepest portion of the Los Angeles River. I am forever grateful to her. Tate Publishing’s staff remained available and helpful from the beginning to the end of the composition and construction of this book from ms. form. Its director of production, Melanie Harr- Hughes, conceptual editor, James D. Bare, two of its layout design- ers, Joey Garrett and Christina Hicks and one of its cover design- ers, Kellie Southerland graciously directed me through the world of book writing. Would that every novice be gifted with just such true guides. Tate’s actions in producing this book more than matched its advertising assertions. What a delightful surprise and outcome. CONTENTS Epigraphs. 9 Note to the Reader . 20 Preface . 22 Side A: Abortion and the Presence of The Living Christ and Author of Life . 31 Side B: The Post-Embryonic Human Fetus as a Constitutionally Recognized Person . 49 A Long Conclusion (to Side B): Containing Some Parting Shots and Final Thoughts. .60 Appendix 1: Reproduction (with Author’s Commentary and Annotation: hereinafter “with aca”) of Rex v. Eleanor Beare (aka., E Merriman), Derby, England, August 15, 1732 . .70 Appendix 2: Reproduction (with aca) of Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations v. Deborah Allen (1683) . 83 Appendix 3 . .89 Regina v. Adkyns (Essex, 1600) . 89 R v. Anonymous (circa, 1750?) . 92 R v. Winship (Durham, 1785) . 93 R v. John Gould (Stafford, 1811) . .98 R v. Mary Ipsley and Elizabeth Rickets (London, 1718) 100 Appendix 4: More Samplings (with aca) of English Common Law Abortion Prosecutions . 102 Gundewine v. Warner, et al (1247) . 102 Prest v. Code, et al (Hampshire, 1281) . 104 Rex v. Haule (London, 1321). 105 R v. John Kyltavenan (Cork, Ireland, 1311). 109 R v. Hansard (Eyre of London, 1329) . 110 R v. Skotard (Eyre of Derbyshire, 1330) . 111 R v. Mondson (Lincolnshire Gaol Delivery, 1361–1362) . 112 Q v. Webb (Southward Assizes, 1602) . 113 R v. M. C. of E (1672) . 117 R v. Turner (Nottinghamshire, 1755) . 119 R v. Edward Fry (1801). 120 Q v. West (1848) . 125 Rex v. Richard de Bourton, a.k.a. The Twins-Slayer’s Case (1327–1328) . 126 R v. Anonymous (aka, The Abortionist’s Case) (1348) . 143 R v. Nicholas Atte Well (Gloucester, 1409). 149 R v. Wodlake (Middlesex, 1530) . 151 R v. Taillour (Norfolk, 1532) . 154 Appendix 5: R v. Phillips (Monmouth Summer Assizes, 1811) . 155 Appendix 6: R v. Russell (Huntingdon, 1832) . 159 Epilogue to the Appendices: Intractable Problems in Relating a History of Abortion Prosecution at the English Common Law. 164 Endnotes . 173 A Small Matter of Procedure . 223 A Fetus-as-Person Legal Practice Manual for Pro-Life Attorneys and Legal Organizations . 225 Postscript . 234 EPIGRAPHS “There’s been a bit of debate lately on what the early Church thought of abortion. That’s surprising when you think about it, because we’d give a lot to have the kind of documentary record for other doctrines that we have for the Church’s condemnation of this practice.... No other moral issue has such a detailed paper trail. Even the earliest documents—most of them very brief—take time to state an unqual- ified condemnation of the practice. The Fathers spoke with such certainty, clarity, and consistency on the issue that it’s hard to find any seams in the argument. That’s all the more remarkable when we consider how the…[Roman] culture of the time treated children… Infanticide was a common… practice.” —Mike Aquilina, Roots of the Faith: From the Church Fathers to You 121-122 (2010) “The [early] Church is worried about its public image and con- cerned to show that it is not a subversive organization threaten- ing the well-being of [Roman] society … In just two respects are the first Christians recorded as hav- ing been consciously different from their neighbours. First, they were much more rigorous about matters of sex [which includes marriage] than the prevailing attitudes in the Roman Empire. [Secondly], abortion and … [infanticide or the] abandonment of unwanted children were accepted as regrettable necessities in Roman society, but, like the Jews before them, Christians were insistent that these practices were completely unacceptable.